SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers are poised to vote Monday night on a proposed $42.3 billion state budget for the upcoming fiscal year that Democrats say would fully fund K-12 education and the state’s pension obligations while also paying down a sizeable portion of the state’s debt.
The job became easier, however, with better-than-expected tax collections this year as well as passage of the federal American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, which will provide about $8.1 billion that the state can spend over the next four fiscal years. Lawmakers said they plan to use the money for one-time projects such as affordable housing development, public health improvements, violence prevention programs and infrastructure projects.
Illinois Medicaid companies rake in record profits from pandemic
“Here we sit today. We are back in our state Capitol,” he said. “We have vaccines. The world is beginning to open back up. We are seeing a bright, sunny day outside and there’s a lot to talk about that we have accomplished in the last year as a state that has put the state of Illinois in a far more stable place financially and a responsible place fiscally.”
Highlights of the proposed budget include increasing funding for the evidence-based funding plan for K-12 public schools by $350 million, bringing the total to $9.2 billion.
It also calls for spending about $7.5 billion in state general revenues on Medicaid, plus another $7.4 billion for other human services; $1.9 billion for higher education; another $1.9 billion for public safety; and $1.4 billion for general services.
In addition to those regular items, Harris said, the plan calls for spending about $2.5 billion of the ARPA money Illinois expects to receive. Of that, $1.5 billion would go for things like economic recovery programs to help businesses hardest hit by the pandemic, public health, affordable housing and violence prevention programs like after-school activities, and summer youth employment.
#HouseExec now taking up gaming bill, which would among other things allow in-person betting on Illinois collegiate teams. It would also also Wintrust Arena in Chicago to qualify as a sports betting venue. #twill https://t.co/6ymeN6I9or
— Brenden Moore (@brendenmoore13) May 31, 2021
Another $1 billion of the ARPA funds would be directed into the ongoing Rebuild Illinois capital improvements program to accelerate some of the projects slated for construction.
Harris said the proposal also calls for paying down about $2 billion of bonded indebtedness as well as paying off all of the state’s internal, or “interfund” borrowing.
Republicans opposed the plan in a committee hearing Monday because it also relies on eliminating or delaying the implementation of some corporate tax cuts and business incentives, which Democrats have termed corporate “loopholes.”
The House and Senate are expected to vote on the package sometime Monday night.
9 films set in Illinois (but not Chicago)
‘The Informant!’
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The 2018 film starring Matt Damon, Scott Bakula and Melanie Lynskey was filmed in Decatur.
‘The Founder’
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The 2016 film starring Michael Keaton about Ray Kroc and the origins of McDonald’s was set in Illinois, where the company is based.
‘The Fugitive’
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The 1993 film has Dr. Richard Kimble heading to an Illinois prison for killing his wife.
‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’
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The 1989 film takes place in an anonymous Illinois suburb. The 1983 precursor also features shots of the state.
The John Hughes collection
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The prolific John Hughes set many of his of films in suburban Chicago, including “Home Alone,” “Breakfast Club,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Sixteen Candles,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “She’s Having a Baby,” and “Uncle Buck.”
‘Lincoln’
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Obviously.
‘Groundhog Day’
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The 1993 film starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell was filmed mainly in Woodstock, Illinois, which stood in for Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
‘Grandview U.S.A.’
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The 1984 Jamie Lee Curtis, Patrick Swayze and C. Thomas Howell movie was filmed in Pontiac.
